For my inaugural post, I wanted to share some background behind the inspiration for this blog.
Last month (July 2016), Piaget unveiled the Polo S, with the theme for the the new timepiece being "Play a Different Game." Now, I'm not exactly a watch person, but Piaget named nine international "game changers" to wear the new watch, one of whom was my favorite Chinese actor, 胡歌 Hu Ge.
I'll admit I was not immediately drawn to the theme; in fact, I thought it sounded cheesy and cliche, like so many popular buzzwords and corporate slogans that aim to inspire but have long lost their punch. However, instead of fading altogether, the message actually resonated more and more as I continued to come across 胡歌 Piaget photos and videos. Each Piaget ambassador had shared a personal story about a game changing experience, and 胡歌's anecdote was about how he took a year-long hiatus from all TV and film opportunities to instead try theater in order to challenge himself with something different and thereby improve his acting. What he didn't mention but his fans would know, is that early in his career he suffered a near-death car accident that left him with severe injuries, both emotional and physical. At the time, he thought his career as an actor was over, but after great encouragement from friends and colleagues, he felt obligated to return to the screen a year later, despite feeling ill-prepared and unconfident because of his changed appearance. Long story short, ultimately he did overcome those shadows and accept his "new" self, and clearly he has been very successful since then. In recent interviews, he's often quoted a line from his character in the popular 2015 drama, Nirvana in Fire (琅琊榜): "既然我活了下來, 就不會白白地活著," which translates to "since I survived, I will not live in vain."
In an age where start-ups have become the "it" thing and glamorous success stories make the front page as opposed to the other 90%, it's been too easy for me to idolize others but chalk up their successes to some stroke of genius, luck, or non-ordinary circumstances. However, the fact that 胡歌 chose to share the seemingly simple story of taking the risk of leaving the big screen in order to improve his skills, rather than talking about the arguably more traumatic comeback post-accident, served as a good reminder to me that making a difference begins with ourselves and the little things we do have control over. It's about the small steps we take, the daily decisions we make; it's about self improvement.
So here I am, going back to basics. Starting with simple goals, like writing more and expanding my horizons and learning new skills. Starting with recognizing the many positives in everyday life and sharing those with others. Starting with a commitment to myself for a better me.
Last month (July 2016), Piaget unveiled the Polo S, with the theme for the the new timepiece being "Play a Different Game." Now, I'm not exactly a watch person, but Piaget named nine international "game changers" to wear the new watch, one of whom was my favorite Chinese actor, 胡歌 Hu Ge.
I'll admit I was not immediately drawn to the theme; in fact, I thought it sounded cheesy and cliche, like so many popular buzzwords and corporate slogans that aim to inspire but have long lost their punch. However, instead of fading altogether, the message actually resonated more and more as I continued to come across 胡歌 Piaget photos and videos. Each Piaget ambassador had shared a personal story about a game changing experience, and 胡歌's anecdote was about how he took a year-long hiatus from all TV and film opportunities to instead try theater in order to challenge himself with something different and thereby improve his acting. What he didn't mention but his fans would know, is that early in his career he suffered a near-death car accident that left him with severe injuries, both emotional and physical. At the time, he thought his career as an actor was over, but after great encouragement from friends and colleagues, he felt obligated to return to the screen a year later, despite feeling ill-prepared and unconfident because of his changed appearance. Long story short, ultimately he did overcome those shadows and accept his "new" self, and clearly he has been very successful since then. In recent interviews, he's often quoted a line from his character in the popular 2015 drama, Nirvana in Fire (琅琊榜): "既然我活了下來, 就不會白白地活著," which translates to "since I survived, I will not live in vain."
In an age where start-ups have become the "it" thing and glamorous success stories make the front page as opposed to the other 90%, it's been too easy for me to idolize others but chalk up their successes to some stroke of genius, luck, or non-ordinary circumstances. However, the fact that 胡歌 chose to share the seemingly simple story of taking the risk of leaving the big screen in order to improve his skills, rather than talking about the arguably more traumatic comeback post-accident, served as a good reminder to me that making a difference begins with ourselves and the little things we do have control over. It's about the small steps we take, the daily decisions we make; it's about self improvement.
So here I am, going back to basics. Starting with simple goals, like writing more and expanding my horizons and learning new skills. Starting with recognizing the many positives in everyday life and sharing those with others. Starting with a commitment to myself for a better me.
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